1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a structure for protecting high-voltage wires on an electric vehicle, used for supplying electric power to a motor of the electric vehicle.
2. Description of the Background Art
In certain electric vehicles such as, for example, a motorcycle, an electric motor has been used as the driving source of the vehicle, and a control unit, for controlling drive operation of the motor, has been provided on a rear swing arm which is swingably mounted to a vehicle body frame. Such a design for mounting a drive motor and control unit is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2004-122981. In the electric vehicle described in this reference, the control unit is connected to a battery, mounted to the vehicle body frame, and having high-voltage wires extending to the motor.
A high-voltage wire in the arrangement described above is usually protected by a portion of the rear swing arm, such as a cover member. However, there is still a need for an improved design of the rear swing arm that reduces the overall weight of the electric vehicle, while further improving protection for the high-voltage wires.
The present invention has been developed based on the foregoing background, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved structure for protecting the high-voltage wires, designed sensibly, for an electric vehicle in which a control unit for controlling the motor to drive the vehicle is mounted on a rear swing arm.